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| Sunday, 31 July 2005 |
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Lanka's tea exports net $376 million in 1H, 2005 by Elmo Leonard Sri Lanka's exports of tea for the first half of this year in dollar terms earned $376 million, second only to $404 million earned during the first six months of the tea boom year 1998. In comparison, in 2004 exports of tea from January to end-June were $348 million. In rupee terms, the first six months of this year saw export earnings at its highest at Rs. 37.3 million up from Rs. 34.1 billion compared to the corresponding period in 2004. Export earnings of tea in packet form contributed significantly, during this year, being Rs. 9.0 billion for the first six months of this year from 36.0 million kilos exported, as against Rs. 7.3 billion from 31.7 million kilos in the corresponding months of 2004, Anil Cooke of Asia Siyaka said. In 1998 Sri Lanka's exports of tea came from the low quantity of 133 million kilos. The January to June 2005 exports of tea amounted to 139.6 million kilos, down from 145.6 million kilos during the corresponding months of 2004. The approximate average FOB value per kilo for this year's exports (released by the Sri Lanka Tea Board) is Rs. 267.42, a growth over FOB Rs. 234.69 per kilo during the same period last year. Currently, Colombo's tea auction average is lower than it was during July last year. At the auction sale last week, the average was Rs. 164.73 per kilo average while the average price of the corresponding sale of 2004 was Rs. 177.41 per kilo. Today, the rupee being stronger at Rs. 100 to a US dollar and Rs. 177 of a Sterling pound brings less foreign exchange into the country compared with the rupee value in December last year, Cooke said. In December last year Rs. 105 fetched a dollar and Rs. 195 a Sterling Pound, Cooke said. At the same time, leading tea exporters Kenya and India are having good crops of tea and adding the supply factor against Sri Lanka's export venture. Tea exports in bulk for the period January to June this year dropped in volume to 82.9 million kilos against 92.3 million kilos during January-June 2004, according to the Forbes and Walker tea report. Russia and the CIS Countries continue to be the No. 1 market for Ceylon tea this year taking a total of 33.6 million kilos, down from 34.1 million kilos during the first six months of 2004. Sri Lanka's second largest buyer of tea this year is the UAE having taken 14.15 million kilos as against 14.40 million kilos last year. Syria is Sri Lanka's third largest buyer for the year having taken 13.95 million kilos, followed by Iran, (11.92 million kilos) and Turkey 8.2 million kilos. |
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